The moment is a hard place to be

The moment is a hard place to be. Especially if one hasn't practiced being there. Often times I am in the future or in the past, but recently I have practiced being in the now. And it is hard. Almost immediately my mind strays, thinks and continues in its long chain of discussion and process and I lose track of being now. But I have begun the practice, the practice of recognizing the thoughts, welcoming them (like attention-attracting students), appreciating them and letting them run their course. I have to work on the attachment to them and be more carefree about them- i have to let them arise, for they are inevitable- and let them go... despite my habitual custom to hold on to them!

The basil is growing, the tomatoes are getting there and the green beans were picked for the first time. おいしい！！！Hopefully the cilantro and parsley will grow; fortunately, my klutziness didn't kill them outright.

Exhausted... first night off in far too long... and even it is tiring. Gotta keep moving and keep working. Like Master Hyakujo Ekai said, "If I do not work one day, I do not eat one day." I suppose that "work" is a matter of opinion, but I like what he said. Not "like," but acknowledge. Yeah, that's a more "useful" word. Just done, at the end of each day. Living like it is worth living.

I had spent some recent time hating every waking second and now I can't help but be in them! Whether or not i like the moment isn't important. I am awake with the sun (will soon be 5am) and asleep when my body and mind are just on empty. But even sleep isn't a rest, because I am in those moments too.

Without the time to analyze, think and care about the actions, I am able to go about them. The issue with which I am currently struggling is: am i going through the motions or am I "in" each movement? It is hard to be on all the time, but it's a waste of life if one isn't. Popular culture's simple answer to me: "Hey Dave, buy a fucking TV!" The response: "Hey popular culture, go sign on to facebook!"

I totally went on a tangent there! Random.

Some side notes:
-I enjoy the jutaku's (teacher's apartments/ complex) weeding day at 8:30am on the third Sunday of the month. I can't promise to always be there, but I am good for four months now! And the best part, the dude who used the weed-whacker moved out last month, so I got to chop a lot of plants with a fast-moving blade. Damn those things are hard to maneuver. But I look forward to next month's butchery!
-It is getting hot now... i really missed that. the humidity teases us, saying, "just wait till august... when it will be horrible!" For now its nice.
-Last night I went to a concert on the other side of town. Before I left my apartment (for a 45min bike ride) the sky opened up to let the entire contents of the ocean (which had previously evaporated into the clouds) unload. I was so wet that I have to laugh... but some decent raingear/ zipaway pants/ change of socks/ etc. let me enjoy the show in a rather comfortable fashion.
-The concert last night was awesome. I love Blues music. I really do. Country and Blues and Rock and Roll baby... but it all stems from my blues enjoyment. The funk beats that shot off, the harmonica often found in G, and some real heart-pouring... damn the Blues are awesome... even in Japanese... (my not understanding) the words didn't get in the way of Kimura-san's music last night. God-damn. And alcohol and cigarettes... the blues never jammed so hard!
-Spoke with Ochida-san and his friend and we already made tentative plans to go to Country Gold music festival in October! Gotta love real music... country, blues, rock and roll, some bluegrass... and so it goes...

There, I got it all out. For now. There is more, but it is lost somewhere in the inroads of my cerebrum. When its time comes, I'll "git 'er dun" too!

一期一会

一期一会


(Thank you Aiko-chan!)



Finalists (and only contestants) for the photo caption competition:

"[It] is simply baggage on the path to enlightenment... or maybe it's not."

"[It] is either a sacrificial gift put down there to honor the tree.... or a bag of trash used to cover up a steaming pile of dog shit"

Now those are some rather in-the-moment answers, ne?

Seeing the same

I just looked at the cover of Phish's "Pitcher of Nectar" for the millionth time it seems. Before I used to see an orange, or some fruit resembling a peach perhaps. And, only now, did I notice a face starting back at me. It was a moment of laughter to say the least. He had been seing me the entire time while I was staring at him... and he didnt even say hello. Just goes to show that I can look at the same picture and see only what I think I see. If I give it a bit of time, space and a fresh perspective, even the same album cover transmorgifies into... well, into what is actually there! NOT just what I think I have been seeing!

If an album cover is ever-changing, imagine if people followed suit... you know, ever-changing and presenting a different face upon every meeting. Guess that means I can't rely on my old pigeon-holed ideas of where people "fit," what "kind" of person he or she actually is, and what I think I think. Better just to take it straight up at the moment in time when the meeting occurs.

Reminds me of a phrase I learned here... "Ichi go, ichi e." Not to be confused with "Ichigo Ichie." If only I knew the kanji....

SHIKOKU 四国- IN PICTURES!

(Over-night ferry leaving from Shinmoji 新門司 ... 14 hrs to Tokushima 徳島　to meet Vinnie! Met Geoff on the way and he served as a background-info-giver regarding the area!)
(I waited for his boat to arrive... same ferry line, opposite direction!)


(Statue of Awa-odori dancers... famous dance in Tokushima/ Naruto 鳴戸　area. This is a good reference for the last sequence of pictures on this post!)

(Vinnie met the girls on the ferry; they had a rental car. The dude was touring on his motorcycle. Before we all hit the road, we sampled some famous udon. We hung out with the girls for two days and they took us in a direction he hadn't planned! It was awesome.)


(Mariko is cute with that flower in her mouth, don't you think?)
(Eri, Vinnie and Mariko pose at the Naruto whirpools... sweet!)

(Standing above a set of those said whirlpools)

(Whirlpoolin')

(Look closely if you can)

(Day 2, kayaking- on the 大平よ　－－Pacific! )

(Poor urchin never saw it coming... )

(The girls had to head back to Tokyo. Hate to see them leave, but love to watch them go...)



(This is the Pacific!)

(yes... it certainly is)
(we camped overnight with some other English teachers and this is the aftermath. I ended my dry spell, just to fit in.)
(23 samurai warriors who were killed during the transition from the Edo to Meiji periods. This next sequence is from a ride from a nice woman. It took us four hrs to hitchhike 15km.... she wasn’t the worst driver I have ever been in the car with, but I hadn't ever been carsick before either!)
(gorgeous garden and shrine on the top of the mountain. One of the 88 shrines that pilgrims must visit on their mission to pay homage at them all. That was a burly hike... those folks are strong to walk around the majority of the island in search for enlightenment)
(View from the very top... we had to drive through a green tea (ocha) お茶　field in order to get here!)

(Vin shows me how it's done)
(Iya valley's famous vine bridges. Traditional for the deep gorges of this inner Shikoku paradise.)

(Posing with one of the many bags of chips that we shared on the trip. Forget the "T&A" discussion; we decided that we are chip men instead of candy men. This one was pizza flavored. Not so shabby, if i remember correctly.)
(Vine bridge close-up.)
(From the other side. NO, we did not pay 500円 to cross it.)
(I couldnt catch the van of six cute Japanese girls. Dammit!)

(in Kotohira, Kompira-san... night hike. 863 steps and good discussion.)

(A late arrival in Takamatsu directed us to spend the night in this internet cafe. Not a bad night's sleep; not a great one either.)

(The teahouse in the middle of Ritsurin Park　栗林公園. We had tea ceremony here)
(What is that bag doing on the step? Prize to the person with the best answer.)



Those were all taken in Ritsurin Koen.

The next set is of the Awa Odori Dance.

(I met up with Geoff the next day before I left Tokushima and he said that this was his dance group. If he weren't working, then we would have seen him dance!)

Reader beware, the next set is of... well... let's just say that Geoff's absence didn't mean that there wasn't at least one gaikokujin　 外国人　involved....

Six long full days. Incorporating everything and missing nothing. It couldn't have been a more perfect trip. It couldn't have been longer or shorter or logisitcally any different. We had planned on heading north and then sweeping around to the coast. Our journey, however, went south down the coast and then swept north through the valleys and mountains... so we just followed along. The rest of it is just details and stories. Check out Vinnie's blog or facebook page for a couple of great videos. I can't believe it actually happened.

jane.

and yet, another week off...

from blogging, that is.

you know. its funny to publish stories, thoughts and pictures. It makes me look at myself and say, "jeeez fella. You are not that important!" It's my mundane life and the weekend trips that I am able to take when i have the money and energy to do so. It's my bigger breaks and lazy afternoons with lots of sunlight and not real motivation to do much after work besides watch the wind in the trees outside my window. It's all so blah. and yet, I keep thinking about it, writing about it and recording it. In my mind, on paper, with pictures. And when my ashes are floating along in the wind one day, there will be a funny record that is only accessible through advanced technological means. Hopefully, by then, people won't have forgotten how to read. But, I don't count on it. If i am a successful assistant language teacher, then maybe one previous Japanese student of mine can dig up the dirt and get the real story behind his ALT.

Yes- a random flow today... stemming from a sick day (in the making for a week, now) and lots of phlegm too. You didn't need to know that? Don't kid yourself, you are excited to "be in touch" aren't you? You pay for what you get. Other cliche here and random blah-ness.... i should not post this. But I may do it anyway.

Enjoy the pictures.

Shikoku 四国！！

Yeah, I took a week off.

I tried to get some time in Okinawa six weeks ago and it was't exactly the break I had hoped for. Lesson #1: NO expectations!

When a buddy that I didn't know very well suggested that we hitchhike together I was unsure about what might happen. (apply Lesson #1 here). Go for it and "make" time to really feel away, not just to get away. Lesson #2: Time is necessary!

Along the same lines... five days of rushed vacation is good, but too many logistical details are detrimental. Have some guidelines and ideas and let the logistics fit themselves in. Lesson #3: Create Space!

Not knowing anything is helpful. Without egos folks can interact with much more intensity and realness. Lesson #4: Being wrong is OK.

These are the lessons learned. The past week with Vinnie was one of the best experiences I have had in my life. I can't really analyze it or break it down, but it was fulfilling to every degree of life, not just "vacation." If only we'd have had more time... but even that would have ruined it. I will get some pictures up as soon as he sends them to me.

This blog was going to be a long ramble of stories... but if "y'all know the rules, then stay cool...."

Stuck in the middle with you

Famous words from a famous song by a famous dude. I think he is refering to "the present" as he comes to terms with not focusing on the future or the past. And he claims to be stuck, though he is actually "there." Suppose being stuck isn't the traditional "stuckness" and simply a recognition of just "being" there. Put "quotes" on that! --- ["THAT"]

(We got there a week before the huge bloom of these purple badboys, but some gave us a preview...)

(Can you spot the butterfly in this one? I didnt see him until I posted this picture!)

(The name behooves me... i should have written it down)

I whent (yeah, I am gonna keep that typo) hiking again on Tuesday, a day off. Went back to Raizan (雷山 ) and Ihara-yama (井原山 ). It was much different this time, as there was no snow. I was excited to leave because the weather was nice. I waited outside with my backpack and my birkenstocks on, so as to change into my comfy kicks for the post-hike.
(Summit of Raizan- 雷山)

We drove an hour and a half, listening to TopGun on tape... it was awesome! We get to the mountain and I put on my socks. I look for my shoes and... HAHAHA... joke was on me, eh! Hadashi (裸足 ), that is the word for bare-foot, as I came to hear with many passing hikers who saw me when I occasionally rocked the trail with straight feet.

(Hirata and Tahara at the top of Ihara yama- 井原山)

Four hours of hiking is awesome. And when a quarter of it is along a ridge on a nice, soft trail with barefeet, it is even more enjoyable... reminds me of Julianna who I met at Machu Picchu and took her sandals off because she liked the feel of the mountain... now i understand what she was talking about. But the time with the birkenstocks was also comfy! I got slight blistering on the edges of my feet, but not so bad at all!

(Three leaves, looks like the mitsubishi emblem, ne? By the way, "mitsu" is one way of counting things in "three's"...)

As I come back to the earth (so to speak), I am finding more things to laugh about. One of them is technology. So helpful and so harmful. Long of it, I am thinking of disconnecting the internet in my apartment. I had this thought long ago, but it came up again. So, I write it down. Maybe after basketball season.